1/30/2017

I AM MICHAEL isn't a great film, nor is it as emotionally draining as one would think given the subject. Rather, it feels like the movie keeps its audience at arm's length throughout. There's probably a very good movie to be made from the material, but this one is mediocre. Still, Franco and Quinto are great, and while it's dry, it's also always watchable.

Average Rating:

5,8/10

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 2017 (USA)

Duration:

1h 38min

Genre:

Biography, Drama

Director:

Justin Kelly

Writer:

Justin Kelly

Stars:

James Franco, Emma Roberts, Zachary Quinto

I AM MICHAEL is the incredible true-life story of Michael Glatze (Franco), a high profile gay youth activist who created a national controversy when he claimed to no longer be gay and became a straight Christian pastor. The film follows Michael from his life in San Francisco with his boyfriend Bennett (Quinto), where he pursues political activism, a journalist career at XY Magazine, social awareness, and sexual exploration, to his days of personal self-discovery. After a traumatic scare, Michael is plagued by doubt and paranoia, and begins a religious reawakening. Michael renounces his gay lifestyle, rejects his friends, and endeavors to find his "true self." He explores Buddhism and Mormonism, yet ultimately lands at a Christian Bible school in rural Wyoming where he meets his girlfriend, Rebekah (Roberts), and becomes the pastor of his own church. This powerful new film captures one man's haunting journey through modern concepts of love, denial and redemption.

1/14/2017

For a lot of people, I Promise You Anarchy will be a bit of chore. Unless you’re will to fully commit, it’ll be difficult to escape the sensation that not a lot is happening fairly slowly. The film has a somewhat documentary quality, mixed with moments of heightened reality. It means the film takes its time, and has sections where it’s not always 100% clear how they fit into the whole. However, under the surface there are some interesting things happening, especially when the film explores the deepening feelings between the men – indeed, the movie anchors itself as a love story – and what those feelings are based on.

Average Rating:

6,8/10

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

26 August 2016 (Mexico)

Duration:

1h 28min

Genre:

Drama

Director:

Julio Hernández Cordón

Writer:

Julio Hernández Cordón

Stars:

Diego Calva Hernández, Eduardo Eliseo Martinez, Shvasti Calderón

At its heart, a love story between two lost boys, I PROMISE YOU ANARCHY manages to be at once chilling and heart-rending. Miguel, from a middle-class family, and Johnny, from a humble barrio, are skateboarders, are best friends and lovers. To finance their lifestyle, they sell their own blood, and those of their gang of skateboarders and acquaintances, to clandestine clinics, until a big delivery job for the mafia goes wrong. Echoing the laid back eroticism of Gus Van Sant at his most playful, with shades of a modern-day neo-noir, this visually arresting film is a sumptuous and occasionally chilling journey into the illicit underbelly of Mexico’s capital.

The film is directed by Rob Chuter, a noted Australian director and he chose not to downplay the passion about the subject matter, and he reminds us of how very difficult some situations were, and still are, for same sex couples. The two leads are both excellent and buff enough to participate in naked sensual lovemaking scenes, but that they are both very talented well-known Australian actors. Make sure you have tissues handy; there is a lot of emotion in the film.

Average Rating:

6,1/10

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2015 (USA)

Duration:

1h 38min

Genre:

Drama

Director:

Robert Chuter

Writer:

Julia Britton

Stars:

Graeme Squires, Nicholas Gunn, Jessikah Brown

Troubled TV personality Steven Evans struggles to find meaning in his life in the face of the superficial world he has created. Smothered by celebrity and materialism, Steven's only respite is through solitary visits to the ocean and shallow sexual encounters with the acquaintances that orbit his life. When his long-term partner hurls him headfirst into fatherhood, Steven's initial reluctance is gradually replaced with love, as he discovers, in his new family, a bond stronger than any he has experienced before. But the return of an unexpected visitor triggers off a series of events that thrusts Steven and his family into a cycle of loneliness, self-destruction and grief.